汉语双宾构式的历时演化--从历时构式语法角度研究 = THE EVOLUTION OF CHINESE DOUBLE OBJECT CONSTRUCTION: A PERSPECTIVE OF DIACHRONIC CONSTRUCTION GRAMMAR

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the evolution of Chinese Double Object Construction (CDOC) from the perspective of construction grammar. Traugott and Trousdale (2013 ) differentiate two sorts of changes: constructional changes and constructionalization. The former refers to changes of features while the latter refers to fundamental changes of form-meaning link of a construction. Moreover, there are Pre-Constructionalization Constructional Changes and Post-Constructionalization Constructional Changes, which do not involve new construction emergence. CDOC had already existed in the oracle bone inscriptions from the 13th century BCE. Therefore my research focuses on its Post-Constructionalization Constructional Changes. I discuss itsexemplarbased analogical extension. An exemplar is something using cases that involve specific meaning features. These features constitute properties of a whole construction. Bybee (2013:63-68) deemed that same or similar meaning features of similar using cases constitute properties of a construction. More importantly, exemplar theory emphasizes exemplar-based dynamics, that is, the content of exemplar changes with using cases. New using cases could become new members of an exemplar after conventional process and change construction?s features as a whole. Therefore, we set a group of original restrictive conditions on the basis of initial exemplar for four selected CDOC classes. These conditions enable me to investigate how their sub-classes break through limitation and become members of their master constructions. Otherwise, we also could study on how CDOC changes with its sub-classes. There are reasons why we choose specific sub-classes as initial exemplar. Generally, they are the earliest members of these classes. After these classes were built these subclasses are always the largest compared to other sub-classes. At the beginning these sub-classes contained rare verbs and they represent the initial state of classes, i.e. initial exemplar. We find that original restrictive conditions relaxed gradually during these classes CDOC evolution process. Some rules were found: The action meaning of verbs became more specific. Verb changed from only had general action to had body action and speech action meaning. The content of verbs became more complex, social property became more obvious. The less semantic distance between exemplar and potential CDOC verbs the more possible for these verbs become CDOC verbs, and then new CDOC classes will be built.